News

06/01/2017

Gent joins the party at Lawn on D

It’s another party weekend at the Lawn on D, with a family-friendly mix of lawn games, food and music, both live and on record.

Handling the DJ honors on Sunday night (starting at 7 p.m.) will be Mike Gent, whom rock ’n’ roll fans will recognize as the singer/guitarist of the Figgs (who played a memorable show at the Lawn last year). He also plays around town with his other bands, the Rapid Shave and the Needy Sons; and his latest solo album, “Headphone Music,” is due later in the summer. But anyone who’s seen him play will know that Gent’s also a first-rate record collector who’ll slip a deep cut by the Kinks or Todd Rundgren into his live shows, and he’ll be bringing picks of his collection for the DJ set.

“I DJ’d a couple years ago at the Lawn and really enjoyed it, very laid back,” Gent said. “I didn’t crank the music up so you couldn’t have a conversation — what’s the point of that at 7 p.m.?”

Among his picks will be some vintage power pop from the ’70s and ’80s, and his fellow music-heads should know they’re in good company. “I’ll probably play something from the second Moon Martin album, maybe something from Dwight Twilley and David Werner. Maybe something from (the Elvis Costello/Allen Toussaint album) ‘The River in Reverse.’ I’ve also got some 20 CDs that I think were compiled by Tommy Ardolino (the late, great NRBQ drummer) — some fantastic crazy stuff on those. And of course I’ll play a lot of current, family-friendly stuff that the kids will love.”

The music starts early tonight with Adam Lufkin, a soulful acoustic songwriter in the Ben Harper/Dave Matthews vein. The Berklee-­sponsored “Lunch Break on D” series continues tomorrow at noon with Brenna Carroll, a recent graduate whose lovely and emotive piano ballad “You Don’t Have to Go” recently appeared online. The funky party band Unity, who were well-­received at the Lawn earlier this summer, will get down again on Saturday evening beginning at 7 p.m., and the horn-driven band Brandy, whose repertoire stretches from vintage big-band swing to Motown and modern hits, will play Sunday afternoon beginning at 2 p.m.

The ever-popular cornhole tournament also continues Saturday, with signups beginning at 5:30 p.m.; and Boston Herald Radio will again be broadcasting live, starting at 9 a.m. tomorrow, to get your weekend started right.